Blood X
by UnfetteredChaos
Summary: *Abandoned due to lack of reviews*


**This fanfiction is based off the Blood Plus RP that I am currently on as a mod. The Admin is The Devious Shini, and the other mods are Feldt Grace and AngelicTeddy. This fanfiction is AU from the RP and dedicated to my friends on the RP, Shini and Grace.**

**WARNING: This fanfiction will not make ANY sense to anyone not on the RP with us. So if you're not, I would suggest either turning back now or trying to follow along, because I am not going to be describing or explaining any of the OCs/elements not from Canon that are on the RP.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Blood Plus or its characters. If I did, things would have gone much differently, and Kings would be Canon. lol Ethan Alacard, Roger Goldsmith and Daylen Quint belong to The Devious Shini. Katherine Rockwell belongs to Feldt Grace. All other OCs belong to me with the exception of Kanade and Hibiki, **_**technically**_**, as I took their names from Canon.**

**Note: "Afterimage" is what I will call anyone using vampire speed.**

**1:**

**Alexander Alacard**

_A six-year-old Alexander Alacard was getting ready to have a group dinner with his family. He wouldn't exactly call it dinner though. They were apparently having normal human food. The very idea made him want to afterimage out of the mansion that he lived in with his parents, sister and his parents' Chevaliers. He knew that he'd only get in trouble though, and his father was scary when angry even though he knew already that his father would never hurt him, so he attempted to force himself to stay still as his father helped him adjust the suit that he was forced to wear._

"_Would you stop fidgeting?" his father, Ethan Alacard, said to him as he knelt in front of him and fussed over his suit. "You're just going to make this take longer." Despite the words, it was clear his father wasn't angry and may even think his fidgeting "cute." That word made him stay rigidly still, which definitely made his father amused as he smirked. _

"_Why do I have to wear a suit anyway?" Alexander asked his father. "I hate wearing these things. Besides, it's bad enough we have to eat human food because Uncle Roger doesn't like to feed. Now we have to be dressed up?" His father was also currently wearing a suit, except unlike his all-black one, his father's dress shirt was red. It made them look even more similar than they already did, as unlike his sister, Alexander had always looked more like his father – they had nearly the same features and the same black hair, though his hair was short, while his father had long black hair that was currently in a ponytail. Their eyes were also different. His father's eyes were maroon and glowed red when his instincts took over, while his were black and seethed rather than glowed when his instincts took over, becoming somehow darker and brighter at the same time, visible even in darkness._

_His father didn't answer him for a moment. "Roger is bringing his Court with him," he responded just when Alexander thought that he wouldn't. That was enough answer for Alexander and he smirked, amused himself now. "I thought you'd find that funny."_

_Alexander's smirk turned into a full-on smile as he realized then that his father had only admitted that to cheer him up. "You want to show him up." He tilted his head curiously. "But why, Father? You're already more powerful than him, right?"_

_His father finally finished with his suit and hugged him close. "If I am to you, then that's enough for me." He pulled back after a moment. "And I am in reality, so that's a bonus."_

_Alexander chuckled at that just as his mother, Monalisa, and younger twin sister, Melinda, came in. His mother had been helping his sister get dressed. Melinda immediately ran to their father for a hug while he looked over his mother. She was dressed in a beautiful purple gown with black trim. As always, she wore a locket on a choker around her neck as well. "You look beautiful, Mother."_

_His mother immediately swept him up into her arms and kissed his cheek happily. "Thank you, sweetie. And you, as always, are my precious little prince." She nuzzled him then as he groaned in protest._

_Alexander had always hated hugs, being held, kisses and the like. However, he had never been able to tell his mother to stop. She was radiant when she was happy, which was all the time, and he was determined to keep her that way. As soon as his mother finally put him back down, Melinda tackled him in a hug that nearly succeeded in knocking him over. Luckily, he was a King, and even at his age, that was hard to do, especially when the other person was the same age. _

"_Melinda!" Alexander immediately complained. Unlike with his mother, he had no problem telling his sister to stop. "Stop it! You're going to ruin my suit!"_

"_Alex," Melinda asked as she refused to listen, nuzzling into him instead. "Do you think that I'm pretty too? Just like Mommy?" She held him tighter. She was also in a dress, hers black with red and purple lace._

_Alexander looked at her stubbornly, irritated that she hadn't listened to him. In truth, he thought that his sister looked like a jewel, and yes, just like their mother. His mother and sister were basically copies – alike enough features, same waist-length black hair, the only difference being their eyes. His mother's eyes were purple, while Melinda's were red like their father's, but both Melinda's and their mother's eyes glowed fuchsia when their instincts took over. But despite the fact that she was as pretty as their mother, he still couldn't help but say to her, "I think you're annoying and need to get off of me."_

_He cringed a bit when she instantly let go of him to go to his mother while crying. His mother instantly wrapped her arms around his sister and attempted to comfort her. Alexander cringed even more at his father's look. "I didn't mean to make her _cry_. I just wanted her to let go."_

_His father just kept looking at him with that glare. "I think you sometimes forget that you're both still _children_. Your sister loves you and just wants to be close to you. Is that so wrong?"_

_Alexander looked at his sister as she continued to cry. Great. Now he felt like a jerk. "No, but—"_

"_No buts, Alexander," his father responded, cutting him off as he scolded him. "Listen. I have never heard of a single generation of Chiropterans that hasn't gone to war with their sibling. I don't want that to happen with you and Melinda. Is that what you want? To have her one day hunting you, to eventually have to kill her?"_

"_No!" Alexander responded. He knew that he was usually hard on his sister. For some reason, he had always been more mature than other children, so he had never been able to relate to Melinda. He didn't know how to deal with her. But he did love her, as much as she annoyed him, and he would never wish to hurt her. She was his twin, the other half of himself. If she ever hated him…. He reached out to her and took her from his mother._

_Melinda instantly fought to get away from him, still crying. "Let go of me!" she yelled at him. "You're always so mean! I hate you!" She paused when she noticed him stiffen, pull back and gasp at her last words. In a way, Alexander _was_ still a child, and too young to understand that Melinda had only said that because she was hurt. She slowly took his hand. "I didn't… mean it."_

_The twins stood there awkwardly as they looked at each other. Alexander moved first, his eyes shifting, and wiped her tears away. "I'm sorry, okay? Just don't…." _Just don't hate me. Please. _"Don't… cry." This time when she hugged him, he allowed it. After a while of silence, he told her, "You're very pretty, Melinda. But now your face is tear-streaked." He looked at his parents. "I'll take her to clean up."_

_Alexander took his sister's hand and led her to one of their bathrooms. He had her sit on a stool so that he could clean her face. "Melinda?" She looked at him innocently, and it was only then that he realized just how much younger she was, at least mentally. "You don't have to worry. I'll always protect you. I'll keep you safe forever."_

_Melinda smiled happily, and just like their mother, she was radiant when she was happy. How could he have missed that? "You promise?" Alexander nodded. "Pinky swear?" She held up a pinky._

_Alexander chuckled. Normally he'd be annoyed at the childishness of such a thing, but…. "Sure," he told her, linking his pinky with hers. "So long as you don't tell anyone."_

_Melinda laughed at that._

Alexander woke up from the dream that he'd been having and sighed as he sat up. He could still see the happiness on his mother's face, hear his father's and sister's words, hear his sister's laughter. Why on earth had he had that dream? No. Not a dream. It'd been a memory, a very familiar memory. But then, he already knew why. He looked out his window as the feeling came upon him again. Something was about to happen. Something beyond terrible, that he had feared since that day. Everything that he cared about was going to be ripped from him, _everyone_ that he cared about. But he had lost them back then, the instant that he had decided his path.

Ever since that day, he had changed completely. Fearing that his father's words would one day become a reality, he had prepared for what he'd always believed, still believed, was inevitable. Why wouldn't it be? He had always been different from his sister and cousins. More mature, he used to think. That wasn't it. He didn't know what it was, but it was something more drastic than that. He was unable to connect with them, just as he'd been unable to connect with Joel VII and David III. And it wasn't just them. With the exception of his family, everyone he had ever come across hated him. Okay, granted, that was kind of his fault.

From the time he was a child, even before the incident in the dream, he had been unable to help saying certain things. It was like a compulsion, or at least it had been at first. Why not just admit it now? He had enjoyed it, these days he even loved it. The reactions of the people he played with were just too fascinating to him. Since he couldn't connect to others enough to play with them normally, he'd created his own game that he forced others to play to this very day. Just after that incident, things had gotten worse, and he'd started going through his life in a withdrawn state, preferring to observe everything from afar, carrying out his life philosophy to be "neither too close nor too far" from others. He enjoyed being a step away from his surroundings. The "game" soon became an obsession of his. The game also had an added bonus. It gave him plenty of privacy when he needed it to do what he needed to do.

Alexander was drawn from his thoughts when there was a knock at his door and he turned his eyes to it. It was a soft knock, gentle, almost shy. _Melinda. _He got out of his bed as he opened his door telekinetically. He'd been right. His sister stood with her hands on her hips. Though she looked sixteen physically, they were both twenty-five now. It was unnerving as they were twins and he looked twenty-one physically, just like his father, though it was annoying that his father still actually _looked _like his father, as in more mature somehow. But then, Alexander always had the look of someone who was both devious and crafty, so it made him look younger. He was younger, by a couple centuries, but still….

Melinda, who now had side plaits in her loose, waist-length black hair, was dressed in a crimson-red silk-and-lace blouse under a black corset, a black gothic-style short skirt, dark grey stockings with dark purple stripes and black gothic-style boots. She also wore a dark purple belt. "Were you asleep?"

"Your observation skills still kick ass, Sis," Alexander responded with sarcasm dripping from his tone. His bed was unmade, his feet bare, and he only wore a black tank top and black sweatpants. What did she think that he'd been doing? Just his bed being unmade should have been a clue, considering how neat he kept his room. Not that there was much to keep neat.

There were no personal items anywhere in his room. His walk-in closet only had what he considered necessary; he didn't have a gazillion clothes he didn't even wear like Melinda did. The only things in his large room was a bed, two nightstands, one dresser with a television sitting on it, a couple chairs around a table, a sofa, an armchair by a fireplace, and his computer station. All his stuff was black. It was his color after all, considering his eyes.

"You don't have to be an ass," Melinda said to him as he did his bed. As soon as his bed was made, Melinda flopped on top of it and looked up at him. "Father wants you downstairs in thirty."

Alexander leaned his elbows on the bed and leaned his chin on his hands as he looked at her. He was wearing his trademark smirk, like the disturbing thoughts from when he'd woken up had been forgotten. They hadn't. He was just too used to them to really care. "Why is that? Because if I were to guess, it'd be because he wanted to make sure I didn't just take off before this little family gathering."

Melinda gave him a look. "Because that idea is just ridiculous considering that you usually do, right?" He moved from the bed without responding, knowing that her rant wasn't over, and also knowing that she wasn't leaving until he was downstairs. Sometimes how close she was to their father was annoying. He heard his sister sit up as he went into his closet to get clothes to change into. "How come you don't like it when we get to see family? Family gatherings should be a good thing, Xander."

At least she'd stopped calling him Alex like she had when they were younger. He hated that nickname. And it just occurred to him just how much he hated, or considered annoying, or irritating, or etc. He emerged from his closet with the clothes and headed out without responding, causing Melinda to afterimage in front of him with a stern look and her hands on her hips. It was one of the things she still did from her younger days whenever someone wouldn't answer her. He sighed before answering, "It's pointless, we have the gatherings every year, despite living in the same city, and it isn't like I actually hang out with the rest of you anyway, _especially_ at the gatherings."

Melinda's angry expression softened. "You could if you wanted to," she said to him softly, the concern in her voice evident. "We're family. I'm sure the others wouldn't mind if you…." She trailed off at his look and he just went past her towards the bathroom. "Well, that's your _own_ fault, Alexander! If you weren't such a jerk all the time—!"

Alexander turned toward her slightly. "Did it ever occur to you that I don't _want_ to hang out with you?" Melinda seemed surprised. "That I don't want you following me around all of the time like we were as close as Kanade and Hibiki are." He ignored her hurt look as he continued. "None of you interest me."

Melinda gasped and took a step back before jumping and turning quickly as their father suddenly roared out angrily, "_Alexander_!" Alexander turned toward their father's voice to see him at the end of the long hallway of rooms, wearing a black suit with a red rose pinned to the pocket, a red muscle shirt underneath, and black pants with black shoes. His eyes were blazing, more than glowing, a bright red, signaling that he was especially pissed. "That is enough." He didn't raise his voice this time, which somehow made the warning note in his tone worse, if anything.

"Father…." Melinda said hesitantly. She didn't like when he got like this, but it was a normal occurrence around Alexander. She looked back at her brother, always surprised by how their father's anger never seemed to faze him anymore. She had no idea why he was always like this. It was like he was intentionally pushing them away. But why would he do that? "Xander? Please. You made me a promise, remember?"

Alexander turned, not speaking a word to either of them as he entered the bathroom and shut the door. Melinda could hear him turn the lock on the door.

Melinda sighed as she looked after her brother. She looked over as her father came to stand beside her. He looked at the door a moment before looking at her. "Melinda. Tell me. What do you sense from Alexander?" Melinda looked at him with confusion, so he clarified. "Twin royals can usually sense each other's emotions, and sometimes even their thoughts."

Melinda looked back at the door to the bathroom. "I've never sensed anything like that from Alexander. I think that I used to when we were kids, but I don't…. I don't remember." She felt frustrated. "I feel like the worst sister in existence. Maybe _that's_ why he's distancing himself from me."

Ethan instantly pulled her into an embrace to comfort her, holding her close as he felt her hug him back tightly. He wished that he could help both of his children. But he had no idea how. It wasn't just Melinda that his son pushed away. It was him, everyone in fact, even Monalisa, who Alexander was arguably the closest to besides Kanade. And he doubted that he could help his daughter much until he helped his son, as this would just keep happening.

"You're not, Melinda," Ethan said as he pulled back and looked at her. She wasn't quite crying, but her eyes were shimmering, and the sorrow in them broke his heart. She was his baby girl and she was supposed to always be happy, always wearing a smile. "Hey." He tilted her chin up. "Let me deal with your brother while you go and help your mother. She's still setting up for the guests and you know I despise mundane work."

Melinda chuckled at that. "Well, we definitely should keep you away from the food, before everything ends up destroyed. Though I suspect you destroy the food on purpose just so you don't have to eat it." She leaned up and kissed his cheek before running off.

Ethan smiled after her. She really was too smart for her own good. He couldn't stand the taste of human food, with the exception of a few things, and even then, only if he was licking it from his wife's body. He was drawn from those pleasant thoughts back to the matter at hand when his son exited the bathroom with some irritation as he dried his hair with a towel, now wearing his usual dress jacket, long-sleeved V-necked shirt, dress pants and dress shoes, the entire outfit black. "You guys do realize that I heard everything, right? I _am_ a King." Ethan, still furious with his son, snatched the towel from him. "Hey!" Alexander smirked in amusement. "That costs a small fortune, you know."

Ethan glared even more at his son's good humor after what he'd just witnessed between him and his sister. He ignored the last part, as they were beyond rich, as he followed Alexander into his son's room. "If you heard everything, _Prince_, then I would think that you would be more concerned about your sister."

Alexander went to his nightstand and picked up his comb before going to his floor-length mirror in the corner to fix his hair, which only took a few moments before it was perfect again. "That's funny coming from you. Kitty says you used to enjoy making your brother suffer. Like that one amusing-sounding incident she told me about where you had _sex_ with his _wife_ in _front of_ him."

Ethan rolled his eyes. "First off, stop putting emphasis on everything. Second, you know Katherine hates when you call her that." Alexander just smiled at all of that. "Third, it wasn't really his wife. It was Katherine. And fourth, we aren't talking about _me_. And I, at least, felt bad about it afterwards."

Alexander chuckled at that as he placed his comb back on the nightstand, but it sounded more designed to actually piss him off further than genuine. But that was nothing new. He had, unfortunately, very rarely seen his son exhibit genuine emotions. He went to his fridge and took out a blood bag. "The point I was making was that I always find it ironic that most lectures people spout are usually from experience… like they actually have a right to make it when the reality is very different. Did Uncle Roger know it wasn't her? And how did you show your regret exactly?" Ethan was silent at that. "Then again, I suppose Uncle Roger is having the last laugh now. You ever notice that it's always the 'bad' twin that has to reform to their sibling's wishes? I guess the 'good' one just always feels that theirs are more important, huh?" Ethan's eyes started to glow a bright red again at his son's words and he was growling. "And you're assuming."

Ethan stopped growling at the last part about him assuming. "What?" Alexander didn't clarify, just opened the blood bag and started drinking it. Ethan just guessed what he'd meant and his eyes returned to normal as he actually softened. "Are you saying you do feel bad about your sister?"

Alexander finished the blood bag and threw it out in a trash bin. He had no intention of answering that. He'd already said too much. He just put on his trademark smirk as he started past his father while saying, "The guests will be here soon and _I _assume that their self-righteousness will cause them to want us to 'behave' ourselves." His eyes widened slightly when he felt his father grab his wrist and pull it back before he spun him around and slammed him into the wall.

As he was a King and his father hadn't even really been trying to hurt him, he barely felt it. He was just shocked as he looked into his father's burning red eyes. Hurting him or not, his father had never done anything like this before. "I am not going to play around with you anymore, Alexander," his father told him with a growl in his voice. "From now on, every time that you put sadness into your sister's eyes, you deal with me. Is that clear?"

Alexander was silent for a long moment as the shock passed. He looked down at his father's hands, one of which still held his wrist and the other that pinned him to the wall. He smiled, but it wasn't like his usual smiles, nor was it genuine. If anything, it was like something inside of him had broken. But why would it? This was what he'd wanted… wasn't it? No. It was just what had to be. He saw his father's surprise at the smile and tried to make it into one of his more usual ones. It seemed to surprise his father more for some reason. "I never figured you for the type to get violent with your kids, Father. Maybe—"

Alexander was the one surprised this time as his father suddenly pulled him into a hug. He was so shocked that his eyes had widened again and he had frozen, not hugging him back. "Whatever it is that is causing you to act like this, to push everyone away, you can tell me, Alexander. I can see it now. Whatever it is, it is tearing you apart. Please, Son, talk to me."

Alexander almost listened to him, but he couldn't. When he felt his father start to pull back, he couldn't help but put his arms around him and hold him tightly. He couldn't tell if his father was surprised or not, but he allowed it. He held onto his father like he was a lifeline, and he wished that he could allow him to be, but he couldn't. He just wanted to feel for a few moments that he was able to be as close to his father as Melinda was, that he was connected to him, to anyone for that matter.

Alexander pulled away from the hug abruptly when he heard the door. Their guests had arrived. Knowing his father would attempt to call him back, and wanting this conversation to be over, he told him, "I feel bad about a lot of things. Not the least of which is Melinda. But it _has_ to be this way. I need my wish to be fulfilled."

His father was silent for a long moment, but Alexander knew without looking that his father had been listening. "Alexander," his father finally said. "Just tell me one thing. What _is_ your wish? Are you planning to start a war?"

Alexander wasn't facing his father, so the flash of pain and agony on his features went unnoticed. "I…. I just want to keep my promise."

"You mean to Melinda?" his father asked. "You think treating her like you are is _protecting_ her?"

Alexander didn't answer that and just went downstairs. What would protect Melinda, the only thing, was…. He shook the thought off as he arrived downstairs. He placed a smile on his face again. It was so simple now it was like a second nature.

"You get chewed out?" Melinda said as she exited the kitchen to see him. Her tone and expression showed vast amusement. She was still a little sister, after all. And what younger sibling didn't like mocking their older sibling just a little when they got in trouble with the parents?

Alexander gave a mock laugh with the same smile. "You're more like me than you think, Sis." The look on her face as she growled at him made him smile genuinely as he went with her into the entrance room with their father following.

His mother was already there with her Chevalier, Rebecca Michaels, and his father's Chevalier, Katherine Rockwell. Their guests smiled at them when they appeared: his uncle, Roger Goldsmith, his aunt Diva, and his cousins, Kanade and Hibiki. His uncle's and aunt's Chevaliers were also there: Daylen Quint, Reina Marques, Melody Descant, Nathan Mahler and Kai Miyagusuku. Saya Otonashi, her Chevaliers Hagi and Riku Miyagusuku, and Hibiki's Chevalier David "Dave" Silverstein III made up the last of their guests. Alexander sidled over to Katherine, who moved away from him a bit, with a smirk. She had long, flowing blonde hair, crimson-red eyes and pale skin, and was currently wearing another of her fancy designer dresses with matching heels. "What's up, Kitty?"

Katherine glared at him with distaste. She had always hated him, just more so as he grew older. Then again, he did frequently give her reasons to. "Not you, Mr. Impotent."

Alexander just chuckled at her words. He was hardly impotent. He just wasn't sex-crazed like she seemed to be. "Ooh, dirty entendre. I'm not impotent, darling. I just don't like you. I keep getting the feeling that you're more used up than a soiled condom and that's just unappealing."

Katherine glared at him even more. "The phrase is '_double_ entendre.'"

Alexander still wore that smirk that he knew annoyed others, especially her. "Yeah. I'm aware." Katherine just rolled her eyes at him this time. He was distracted when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see his uncle. Roger looked exactly like his father, as his father's older twin brother, but with short hair and blue eyes, and was wearing a blue-white-and-silver over coat with a blue muscle shirt underneath, and black pants with blue shoes. "Uncle Roger. Nice to see you back in the neighborhood." He could tell from the glare that the reference wasn't lost on him and he waved a hand with a smirk. "It was just a joke." He smiled. "I see you managed to detach yourself from my sister's crushing hug." Because he knew his sister enough that she'd likely given everyone one.

"Shut up, Xander," Melinda said from where she was conversing with their cousins, Kanade and Hibiki.

Roger sighed at his words. "Can we call a truce for just this one night, Alexander? Please?" Alexander smiled when Roger leaned closer to him and whispered so that not even his father could hear him. "Because I am not your father. Say what you want to me, but if you disrespect my wife or Hibiki, we will have a problem. Understood?"

Alexander didn't even step back, not intimidated in the least. "Not worried about me disrespecting Kanade?" he asked Roger. He had to admit that it somewhat bothered him that Roger didn't think he would. While in another way, he was glad for the vote of confidence that he knew that he didn't deserve.

"Not really," Roger said as he stepped back. "From some reason, you don't bother her." He could tell from his uncle's tone and expression that he was confused about why.

_Because she knows my wish. Part of which was her own wish. _Alexander didn't respond to Roger more than he already had. He went over to where Diva and Saya were with their Chevaliers. He ignored when Roger and the Chevaliers tensed. "Aunties. Welcome as always to our humble abode."

Saya managed a smile as she looked around the opulent mansion. He noticed that she was wearing a pink top with a khaki short jacket, a white knee-length skirt and khaki-colored boots. "This isn't really humble, Alexander." She chuckled. "And I've been to a lot of Diva's places, so that's saying something."

Riku smiled, seemingly always in a good mood. Even when Alexander attempted to start something with or around him, he still always wore that unnerving smile. He should probably stop wearing the suit that always made him look like he was playing dress up in Hagi's clothes though. "You should visit us at Omoro one of these days, Alexander."

Hagi chuckled at that, wearing his usual outfit, and immediately cut in. "I am pretty sure that Alexander would be bored there, Riku." He had always been adept at leaving things unsaid. Riku just frowned, not getting it.

Alexander scoffed with a smirk. "That trait of yours to not say what you want to must really frustrate your wife in the sack, Uncle Hagi." Hagi just glared at him and when Saya moved to defend him, he cut her off. "What he was really saying, Auntie Saya, was that he doesn't want me to visit."

Diva had been watching her nephew closely since he'd walked into the room. "Seeing you always breaks my heart, you know, Nephew." Alexander looked at her questioningly. "You remind me of myself, before I met Roger and he took away my loneliness." She was wearing a white taffeta dress with frills and blue bordered fringes with matching shoes and with her long hair up in a nice hairstyle.

No one noticed Alexander's glare at her as Nathan placed a hand on his Queen's shoulder and said, "Well, those days are over, my dear Diva. And I'm sure once Alexander learns to lighten up, he will find someone too. Or at least stop being so dense. He reminds me of James."

Kai laughed at the mention of one of Diva's now-deceased Chevaliers, wearing a white suit with a dark orange dress shirt. "Yeah. That guy could have used some lightening up." He looked at Nathan. "Your messing with him didn't help, Nathan."

Alexander ignored Kai as he raised a questioning eyebrow at Nathan. "Dense?" Nathan just shrugged with amusement. He knew Nathan's preference for guys, especially due to him wearing his usual outfit, but knew he didn't mean himself. He looked everyone else over, but quickly lost interest, especially when his gaze passed over Katherine, which caused him to shudder. He just went over to where his sister and cousins were instead. He gave a smile and a wave to Kanade. "Kanade. Forced to be here under duress as well, huh?"

Kanade had shoulder-length, wavy black hair that was always styled to fall over her left shoulder and red eyes that glow yellow-orange when her instincts take over, and her fingernails were painted red. She wore a dark-red, off-the-shoulders, V-neck mini dress with yellow designs. There was a red feather-like accessory on her right hip at the top of an open portion of her dress. The dress ended in an upside-down triangular tail in the back, ending just above the knees. There was a baseball diamond-shaped keyhole on the back, above her waist, and at the same height as her chest. The sleeves ended in a triangle shape, which were either wrapped or tied around her middle fingers, with the gold designs of the sleeve taking over at the wrists. She also wore black shorts underneath her dress and a black choker on her neck. To finish off the outfit, she also wore dark, glass high-heeled shoes and a jeweled anklet on her right leg. She had a red tattoo on her upper back, in the keyhole, of what was a red rose.

Kanade chuckled at his words. "Not really. Gatherings are a drag, but I don't mind hanging with the fam from time to time." She winked at Melinda when she muttered something like "wish Alexander was like that" underneath her breath. "You'd be surprised how much your brother does for you, Cousin. Don't knock it."

Alexander lost his smile a moment, having to force his eyes not to seethe, before putting a forced smile back on that only Kanade knew was different than his other smiles. "Comforting my baby sister, Kanade? How sweet of you. Why don't we speak away from the kiddy table, hm?"

"What am I? Invisible?" Hibiki interrupted. She watched him with distrust, wearing a simple long white dress with blue ribbon across the waist and matching blue shoes. Her hair was kept styled like their Aunt Saya's and her eyes were blue. "Or are you just more interested in corrupting my sister?"

Alexander smirked at her. As he was no longer in the mood to play around any longer, his smirk was darker than usual as he disregarded his uncle's warning. "Oh, Cousin. I don't need to corrupt her. I would gain more from corrupting you… if you weren't so far beneath me to make it pointless, that is."

Alexander easily dodged when both Roger and Dave went for him, landing on the railing above that led upstairs in a crouch, like some kind of large bat. "Now, now. I would rather not ruin my mother's night." He stood up on the railing. "Besides, she started it."

Dave glared up at him and spoke in an aside to Roger, "Defending my Queen is my job, King Roger. Even from the words of smug princes that need to be taught a lesson. King or no, no one talks to her like that. Allow me." Dave looked basically like a younger version of his father. They even both wore a suit. Alexander merely gave him what some call a "slasher smile" and crooked a taunting finger at him to bring it.

Before Dave could go at him, his mother spoke, her expression distraught as she gave her son a look. "Alexander. That is enough. Must we go through this every time? You're worrying your sister." She was wearing a black, long-sleeved midriff jacket over a black T-shirt with red lining, a red plaid short skirt with black ruffles on the bottom, black thigh-high socks and black knee-high stiletto boots. She also wore a ring on each ring finger – on the right a silver ring with an amethyst stone, and on the left an obsidian ring with a ruby stone. And she still wore that black choker with a locket hanging from it. It rested over her breasts, and was made of obsidian and encrusted with small rubies.

Alexander looked over at his sister, who was indeed watching everything in worry. "Not my fault the brat is so shy she needs others to speak for her." He noticed his father step beside Roger, both of their eyes glowing as they growled. _I may have no choice but to stop. Engaging two Kings would give me away. _

"Ugh," Rebecca spoke up, now by his mother. Rebekah had medium-length, icy/natural blond hair in soft waves, light blue eyes, full lips and pale skin. She was currently wearing a fashionable black coat over a purple blouse, black leggings in a pair of black low-heeled boots, a long necklace with some kind of pendant and dangle earrings. "You're upsetting my Queen. And you know I'll have to act." His mother put an arm out to stop her and shook her head, not wanting her son and Chevalier to fight each other. Rebecca would just get hurt.

Roger was still glaring at Alexander. "Like I said. I'm not your parents. No one insults my daughter like that." When Diva stepped forward to help, Roger put out an arm, while Saya, Hagi and Riku stayed back, not knowing what to do to diffuse the situation. He looked at his younger brother. "My apologies, Brother. Do you mind?"

Ethan and Alexander locked gazes for a moment before the glow faded from his eyes. "Go ahead, Roger," he responded. The giving of permission made Alexander smile. "If it were my daughter, I wouldn't even ask permission."

Monalisa looked over at her husband. She was clearly concerned about what was going on. "Ethan—"

"It's alright," Ethan immediately attempted to reassure her as he motioned for her to come over to him. When she did, he put his arms around her comfortingly. "I won't let him be seriously hurt."

When Roger motioned for his Chevaliers to get Alexander, it caused the younger King to laugh. "_Chevaliers_?" Alexander said in disbelief. "You think _Chevaliers_ can harm _me_? I feel insulted."

Daylen smirked as he pulled out a rapier with blue rose design on the blade and a blue crystal on the hilt. His hair was black and shoulder-length and his eyes were a sky blue color. He was currently wearing a white leather jacket over a long-sleeved blue dress shirt, white pants and white dress shoes. He also had silver rings on each thumb with blue rose designs. "I wouldn't be so cocky. You forget whose Chevaliers we are, and the fact that we had to train ourselves to fight _him_." He nodded over to Ethan.

Alexander was about to make a snide comment when his father actually did instead. "I suppose it's a good thing that you're starting small then," his father said to the three Chevaliers.

Daylen glared at him, but it was Reina who responded with a dry tone. "In retrospect, considering who his father is, should we really be surprised at how he turned out?" Reina had shoulder-length crimson-red hair that curled inward on the ends slightly and a widow's peak. Her eyes were a stormy grey color. She currently wore a white lace top under a blue corset with a long-sleeved white jacket over that, and black form-fitting pants tucked into a pair of black low-heeled boots.

"They do act kind of alike at times," Melody put in. Unlike her siblings, she sounded more amused than mad at Ethan's words. She had an alabaster-white skin tone, long wavy black hair that fell halfway down her back, and sea-blue eyes. She wore a blue, long-sleeved blouse that showed off her cleavage and slightly bore her midriff, and white form-fitting pants tucked into a pair of white boots.

"Children, stop stalling," Alexander cut in. "I'm getting bored up here." He didn't even bother to take out his own weapon as Reina readied her dual arm blades and Melody readied her blue-and-white halberd. _Or is my weapon technically plural? _Regardless he wouldn't need it against….

He was distracted when Reina rushed at him first, her blades folding down as she attacked. He dodged her strikes easily as he flipped on the railing. "Too slow," he taunted, as she continued her onslaught. Still dodging her attacks, on his last flip he sent her falling down toward the ground floor while he flipped off of the railing after her. She ended up landing on the marble tiling face-down while he landed on her back. He heard her gasp of pain an instant before he jumped off of her and back-kicked her out of the right window, shattering it with her body as she flew through it.

Melody afterimaged at him next, swinging her halberd at him with lightning quickness. Her face was struck with surprise when he caught it in mid-swing, and as Daylen blurred at him, due to the fact that he _thought_ that he had been given an opening, he tightened his grip on the halberd, spun, and used the force to knock them into each other so they were both in front of the newly-shattered window. He then easily disarmed the halberd from Melody and struck her in the face with pole end of it, the blow strong enough to knock them both through the window.

Alexander looked over at his mother. "I figured less damage to the house would make you happier," he said to her. He then hopped through the window to face the three Chevaliers, Daylen and Reina already getting up, but Melody still down. Head and heart shots tended to keep their kind out more, probably why she'd gone for his.

Their front yard looked a lot like the one at Nathan's in New York, except that everything was black and red rather than white and blue. It was already late afternoon, so the sky painted the scenery around them a fiery orange and red, shadows quickly spreading across the lawn as nighttime approached steadily.

"Now then," Alexander said to the three Chevaliers, putting his hands in his pockets nonchalantly. "We have more room to play around in. So let's get crazy…." He put on his best smirk.

**Please review! It lets me know that people are actually reading my story and I'm not just wasting my time. Support never hurts when writing a story and makes the author feel not only good, but proud, and keeps them motivated to write more. :)**


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